this year was our first christmas to spend in California with Courtney & Drew. It was SO nice to get away from the wretched winter winds in Oklahoma and escape to balmy San Louis Obispo. The only sad part in an otherwise fantastic trip was that Jared didn’t get to come with me. Next time babe! No excuses! ;)^yes indeed 5 people drove 23 hours in an SUV.

^those lashes!

^court and drew have a darling lemon tree in their front yard, i’m so jealous

^walking to downtown SLO!

^a gum wall in SLO, my mind is appalled and yet ironically intrigued. why? and for how long? and why? and just…why?

^i just really loved this church we kept walking by, it was so darling!

^ Court’s wedding swag (posts here and here) was re-purposed for christmas decor^Court and mom made chili for our first night in SLO. Yum!

Last year I started a Favorite Things post so I thought I’d keep the tradition alive and do 13 Favorites in 2013! Its so much fun to look back and see all the things that have changed and giggle at yourself.

1. Blog Outfit: well this one has been pinned quite a lot, but my faves from the entire year are posted above!

2. Shoes: Ankle boots are still a favorite of mine! I’m constantly looking for more.

3. Jewelry:my engagement ring :D

4.Accessory: HATS!! I’m utterly obsessed with hats.

5. Clothing Item: my leather leggings. they’re so comfy and I feel slightly less like a slob wearing them as pants.

RiffRaff has recently started a monthly surprise box program and while I’m not usually a fan of these subscription boxes I decided to give Riffraff’s a go since I’ve never been disappointed in anything they have sent me.

Of course my first Love, RiffRaff package came with cute polka dot paper and gold confetti inside. I’m such a sucker for cute packaging and the Riffraff girls sure know a thing or two about presentation.

These month’s package included a darling gold sequin clutch and this cute little red jacket. I love that they include four different ways to style your new pieces.

I’ve already worn my red jacket here and I can’t tell you how many compliments I’ve gotten on my sequin clutch! I’m definitely going to be signing up for the next Love, RiffRaff. You can too right here!

Little side note: RiffRaff is actually a locally owned business in Fayetteville, Arkansas. If you’re an Arkie you should definitely stop by their darling store! The RiffRaff girls are just the absolute sweetest and I love seeing their success. It’s so nice to see someone’s hard work pay off, especially someone as deserving as RiffRaff! If you haven’t stopped by their store do it today! You can still order and receive your gifts by Christmas!

I moved back in with my parents in August of 2012 and since doing so, there have been moments of pure insanity and moments that stopped me in my tracks, squeezed my heart, clogged my throat and made me wonder…just where exactly would I be if I hadn’t moved home? Literally and figuratively. This time has been a mix of irritating and hysterical and wonderful and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. thanks mom and daddy for letting me be that annoying adult child that leached off of their parents for a year and a half.

My relationship with my baby sister has been one of those hysterical/wonderful aspects of the move. My brother and I are five years apart so my memories of him as a baby are more toddler age memories, when I walked into his room and he was jumping on his bed in 4 layers of socks and 3 sweatshirts and a stack of hats balanced precariously on his humongous head. He’s 19 now, lives in the dorms and has become terrifyingly responsible for an entire floor of guys so our relationship has become more of the texting variety during this crazy busy time of his life.

Garrison and I will always have a special bond, being the two middles of the family and sharing a propensity to live in utter squalor, but Karianne and I are a different story. I’m nine years older than her. I have memories of changing her diapers and rocking her to sleep, singing God Bless America because I couldn’t think of anything else to sing. I’ve always had this inclination to mother her, to protect her, and I think she’s always felt that she could come to me, tell me things, and that I would listen.

But this past year or so has changed that relationship. She’s my friend, one of my best friends, just like our older sister Courtney is our friend. The three of us group text all day long and I know for a fact that there doesn’t exist another person in this world who can make me laugh as hard as those two do when they get going with emojee texts.

Karianne and I are getting close to the same size in tops and dresses and consequently, my closet has begun to service two girls on an almost daily basis. Courtney used to hate when I borrowed (alright, stole) her clothes but I have to admit, it tickles me to no end when Karianne borrows my clothes. She has frequently put together a completely new outfit that I would have never thought of. I love when she comes home in an outfit of mine and tells me how many of her friends said she looked cute. Is it pathetic that I find joy in the approval of a bunch of 16 year old girls? Think what you want, but these girls are MUCH more stylish than I was at 16 so I will take their approval any day.

Your life will never turn out exactly how you thought it would. But those twists and turns will reveal moments and opportunities that will become the sweetest memories of your life. I wouldn’t trade the months that I’ve had with Karianne for anything. I might have lost my house but I found a best friend. And that is far more precious to me.

I wore this to a Christmas party the other night and my mom told me I looked like the chick from Elf. Since that chick is Zooey Deschanel and she is adorable, I will take any and all ZD lookalike comments forever and ever, amen.

I also finally figured out how to do crown braids, inspired from this photo, and it’s now become my go to hair style since deciding to grow out my fringe. I knew I’d regret chopping those little hairs after about, oh, a month, but ah well ce la vie. They are now at that strange, i-dont-know-where-to-live stage and consequently I’ve been wearing lots of hats. Or crown braids.

This week has been very strange weather for December; 60′s and nary a chilly wind in sight! I have to say, I am far from disgruntled by the current state of affairs. A blessed break from the Snow Apocalypse is fine by me. Especially since it’s like getting me ready for our trip coming up. Christmas in California! I’m so excited to see my sister and brother in law and spend some time in their sweet little town. The 21 hour drive to get there with 5 people and a dog in one car? Tylenol PM you are calling my name.

This past week was a week of terribly low lows and amazingly high highs, so I apologize for the lack of posts. Blogging was pretty far down the list of things I was thinking about!

A week and a half ago my grandpa was placed in a medically induced coma, leaving us with very little knowledge of what was going on and a very real fear that we might lose him.

Like my mom said, you never really expect to be the family that has to deal with Christmas tragedies. Of course, no one really expects it, but when it happens to you it’s like an out of body experience. Especially when it’s your grandpa, who’s probably the healthiest man in his 70′s that I have ever met.

But I live in a world of faith. I’m a part of a family that believes in prayer and miracles, and I have experienced the very real power of a peace that passes all understanding.

So when nurses are saying that there is no sign of response, when doctors are testing for brain damage, when it seems like there is no hope, there is always hope.

During this time of fear and confusion I kept feeling like everything would be ok. I didn’t know how and I didn’t know why but I just kept saying, “everything is going to be ok. I just know it.” My brain would argue with what my heart was telling me but when I started to feel scared I would pause and think to myself : you are not alone. Christ is with you, He’s with Poppy, and He is in control. It’s not always easy to have faith but the reward is oh so worth it.

After almost a week of little response my Poppy woke up. Miraculously. No brain damage, no signs of trauma at all. He’s still in the hospital and they’re still working on figuring out what exactly happened, but he’s alive, smiling and joking and befriending every single person that walks into his room, just like he always does. And three days later I still can’t think about this without grateful tears welling up in my eyes.

You can’t go through a year like my family has without becoming stronger, closer, better. But we couldn’t have made it at all without our Heavenly Father. You will never be able to convince any of us that Christ wasn’t in control, that a miracle didn’t take place this Christmas. And that faith has a lot to do with a man named Elmer Edward Dalton, not just for his recovery, but because of his life. For his constant reminder of God’s love and his faithfulness through his own actions, every day.

I’m so grateful for a family of faith, who brought me up to believe, who gave me the opportunity to give my life to Christ and know that faith myself, so that I would never be alone, never be without hope.